Hair shampoo and conditioner formulations, when applied separately, result in less than desirable results for the user. For instance, after an application of the shampoo, the hair may become too dry. After an application of the conditioner, the hair may become overly conditioned.
Shampoo formulations often contain surfactants such as sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, and ammonium laureth sulfate. These sulfate-based surfactants facilitate the cleansing process by decreasing: the surface tension of water and thus allowing water to adhere to the dirt on the hair. However, sulfate-based surfactants have a tendency of making the hair too dry and therefore, consumers prefer to use sulfate-free surfactants as shampoos. There is a need to provide consumers with shampoo products that are free of sulfate-based surfactants.
Hair conditioners contain polydimethylsiloxanes, commonly known as silicones, as part of the formulations. These silicone-based hair conditioning agents, such as dimethicone and cyclodimethicone, have been popular as hair conditioners because they are useful in making hair look full, shiny, smooth and easy to comb. However, upon prolonged usage, silicone-based conditioning agents may form a coating on the hair, thus preventing the hair from getting sufficient moisture. Therefore, despite their apparent effects in making hair look full and shiny, conditioning formulations that contain silicon-based conditioning agents raise concerns among consumers.
Even when shampoo and conditioner formulations are applied at the same time as a mixture, the above-noted problems may not be much alleviated. For instance, the classical 2-in-1 shampoo formulations add a silicone-based conditioner and a suspending agent to a sulfate-based shampoo. However, these 2-in-1 formulations would still not resolve the issues because, as part of the shampoo-conditioner mixture, the shampoo prevents the conditioner from properly conditioning a portion of the hair, while the conditioner prevents the shampoo from properly cleansing another portion of the hair. Furthermore, the components in many of these 2-in-1 formulations contain sulfate-based surfactants and silicone-based conditioning agents.
Therefore, there remains a need for a hair cleansing and conditioning composition that offers a balance between cleansing and conditioning properties while the composition is free of sulfate-based surfactant and silicone-based hair conditioning agent.